The stories which were told
by ForeverShallNatureThrive
Summary: A bunch of oneshots I guess, they're the stories hinted at but not fully told in the book. I spun stories out of the basic idea given, and here's what I got. Please enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I am back! Unfortunately, I've hit a hard bit of writer's block for my Dimensional Rip story, and I recently read Goose Girl. I really enjoyed it, but wanted to know more about some of the stories, so I began to weave my own versions of the stories in my head. So then I thought, why not see if others like these stories I come up with, created off the basis of what the book tells me? Unfortunately, this is a relatively unknown story, so I don't know if anyone will even ever read this, but if you do read this, please enjoy it!

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First story, of a baker who baked birds from dough and sent them out the window in search of a treasured pot of apricot preserves (quoted directly from the book, page 3.)

Baker Brown hummed an old folk tune, smiling as he worked bread dough beneath his hands. His young, sickly daughter watched with joy as the bread moved beneath his large hands.

"Da," she said, one day where she coughed more than usual, "Nana said the thing to help my cough would be a jar of apricot preserves in your bread. She said it would be so good..." she smiled, imagining.

Baker Brown smiled down at his daughter, then thought about it for a moment. "Sweetie, I don't think there are any apricot trees nearby here, and money is tight recently."

The girl frowned slightly. "Da, can you try to get some?" Baker Brown ruffled her hair fondly. "I'll try, sweetheart."

When the girl went to bed that night, she said, "Good night, daddy. Someday soon, I want to try the apricot preserve bread."

The next morning, the girl was wracked with coughs. Baker Brown was worried. "Why are you so much sicker now?"

The girl said, "I don't know, but the apricot preserve will help. Nana said so."

Baker Brown sighed. Nana was the town witch, who was said to be truly magical and could speak to birds to find what she needed. Baker Brown decided to go to Nana that day and ask her where to find apricot preserves.

Nana smiled slightly when Baker Brown approached. She was a young woman, with a round , smooth face, eyes brown like rich soil, and long hair that was black as night. She had come to Kildenree from Bayern, allegedly escaping an abusive father.

"My, Mr. Brown, you have finally taken time to come by!" she smiled at the baker.

"I came to ask about these apricot preserves you told my daughter about. Would you happen to have some with you, or some way to get it without paying outlandish prices?"

"Hm, hm," she clucked. "I own none, since we live in such a small town, and I presume that travelling to the main city and purchasing a small jar for some 20 steeds would be an outlandish price, no?"

Baker Brown frowned. "Yes, indeed."

"Then, I have another way to get it. wait just a moment." Nana turned around and trilled several shrill notes. A bird with a bold red chest and yellow crest fluttered down, and trilled several notes back.

Nana nodded, then trilled some more. The bird hopped twice, trilled a single long note, then flew into her hut.

Baker Brown watched these proceedings with a slight frown on his face. Other townspeople watched her, agape. Then the bird returned clutching a scroll, just parchment tied with red string, scarcely larger than the bird, which was about the size of a child's fist. Nana laughed slightly, seeing it flashing its wings like a hummingbird.

Nana trilled again, then took the scroll gently. The bird flew away, leaving behind a red feather. "Here you go. A recipe for doughbirds." She smiled.

"Doughbirds?" Baker Brown asked dumbly.

Nana nodded. "Doughbirds. They function like birds, but they're made of dough. My mother told me the recipe."

Baker Brown asked, "Why do I need doughbirds?"

"You must find a certain pot of apricot preserves, which lay hidden in the woods. However, your child grows weaker by the second, and you cannot leave her alone. Therefore, every day you must make 3 doughbirds and send them out in search of these preserves. Nothing else will do but apricot to save her, and normal apricot preserve will not fully heal her. Only these will." Nana nodded sagely.

Baker Brown pursed his lips, then said, "Thank you." He nodded once, then walked off.

"Good day!" Nana called after him, cheerily.

Back at home, Baker Brown opened the scroll. A small pouch fell out, and he held it, light in his hand, as he read the scroll. "A fist-sized lump of dough, two small, semi-shiny stones, and a single... Animorta stone." He blinked at the strange word, then opened the pouch and tilted it slightly. Out fell a small wave of stones, which were red swirled with gold and black. He smiled slightly. "Animorta stones." He put them back in the pouch, then began to knead the dough. He read the scroll's instructions. "Knead the dough until it is good to be placed into an oven, then shape the dough with your hands into a roughly birdlike shape. Then place the two semi-shiny stones where the eyes are to be, and then slit the breast and place in an Animorta stone where the heart would go. Then reseal the breast and let it sit for 3 minutes. It will begin to sing, and will listen to you command it once. After that, it will do as you ask and then crumble." He did as it said, making 3 birds, and after the three minutes the birds trilled strange birdsong which he had never heard before.

"You three birds, go in search of Apricot Preserves in the woods, which will heal my daughter." The birds trilled in pleasure, then flew off, leaving soft bits of dough in the shapes of tiny little feathers.

Baker Brown spent the rest of the day tending to his daughter, until the three birds came back, empty handed. They trilled in defeat, then crumbled into breadcrumbs. Among the pile were the two eyes, but it appeared that the Animorta stone was gone.

He did the same for 18 days, creating birds in the morning to search, and tending his daughter, who grew weaker by the day. Each day, the birds came back empty handed at night, crumbling and leaving behind only the crumbs and the stones. The Animorta Stones were never in the pile of breadcrumbs, though. Finally, on the 19 day, he was left with only a large mound of breadcrumbs, many stones that shone, and 3 Animorta Stones, the largest three. He despaired, for no bird had come back with even a drop of preserve. He made the three birds, and then tended his daughter. The village doctor said tomorrow would certainly be her last day. Nana frowned but urged Baker Brown to continue with the birds.

Finally, finally, at the end of the 19 day, the birds returned, quite late at night. Baker Brown turned around, expecting them to be empty handed, but starting in surprise when he saw the birds bursting into crumbs like fireworks around a small jar. He opened the jar, and tasted just a fingertip's worth of the substance. "Apricots..." he breathed in utter amazement, then he rushed to the oven, kneading dough like he'd never done before. He baked furiously, adding the preserves to the dough, then shoving it into the oven. Finally, the bread was done. He sprinkled the breadcrumbs from the past birds, which had miraculously not gone bad or stale in any way, and then rushed to his daughter's room.

"My child!" He exclaimed. "I finished the bread!" The daughter smiled radiantly, and looked at him. Then he noticed something was wrong.

"Da, it's too late, I'm disappearing..." And she did seem to be fading in spirit. Her eyes were dulling. He begged, "Sweetheart, eat the bread!" But the child was nearly gone.

"Da..." she said, finally, and she died. Baker Brown sobbed in anguish, too late to save his child.

3 days later, the burial was to take place. Nana came up to Baker Brown and said, "Why didn't you give her the bread?" for he held the platter with the bread, which remained in perfect condition.

Baker Brown said, "It was too late."

Nana frowned and shook her head. "It is never too late." And she took the bread and approached the coffin. "Child, eat." she breathed, and knelt down beside the young girl, looking the same as before. Then she broke off a piece of bread. "It is not yet your time."

Nana placed the bread in the girl's mouth. Baker Brown looked on in agony, until he saw her little mouth moving, chewing the bread and swallowing. Then the girl sat up, in her own coffin, smiling.

"Da, you made the bread perfect!" She exclamed, smiling as the sun just risen from the night.

Baker Brown sobbed in relief and ran up to the girl, hugging her. The townspeople all started, a wave of black cloth shifting in surprise. "She lives!" they exclaimed.

The girl ate more bread, and grew healthier with each bite, until she looked fit and a healthy as any other child in the village.

Nana smiled. "Child, welcome back."

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So. Was it any good? Do you think this was a good idea? I hope it was. I left appearences to your imagination, mostly, save for Nana... :) I'll write another story, and hope for a review, although I'm not expecting any... haha... please review if you're reading this! I want reviews! They are the bread of life and joy to me! :D


	2. Author's note, sorry!

AAH! AAH! AAH! AAH! CRAP!!!!! TT-TT I was going to type another chapter just now (yes, I realize that I'm lazy and didn't even start before now, even though I should have...) and then I just now realized I returned Goose Girl to the library 2 days ago!!! TT-TT I can't remember the story ideas, either... TT-TT So sorry!... If anyone has a copy of Goose Girl, can they tell me what the story ideas were?... I feel so bad, I didn't even realize that I wouldn't be able to type the story until just now... I pray to God someone will have a copy so I won't feel guilty... and I'm not going to return to the library for a while since I always check out a bunch of books... and need to finish them all before I go back... and my mom doesn't approve of me borrowing the same book over and over, especially if it's fantasy (You need to start reading some new books, instead of reading the same ones over and over again!, when I attempt to re-check out a book, and with fantasy, she says, You need to get your head back in the real world! With all the fantasy that you read, you won't be aware of the real world anymore!) So... please let someone with a copy of Goose Girl on hand come by and help...

Again, so sorry!


	3. Chapter 2

Well. Here I am. With another chapter. =) Finally. Took long enough, but anyhow. I deeply apologize for anyone who wanted more but I failed to give them more sooner... but thanks to my friends and reviewers, I now have the will and material to write again! Special thanks to brown phantom because he helped me the most (he sent me several more through PM, and also told me the page numbers. =D Thank you!), and also sorry if anyone has sent me a PM or anything but I didn't reply, they're lost somewhere deep in my email inbox where I can't find them anymore... By the way, most of these stories' characters will not have names... and Nana is a character who will appear several times. You do remember her, right? The witch from the last story? She is a character who exists in all times in order to move the story along.

Oh yeah, and also, the character's appearances are up to your imaginiation, for most of the characters besides Nana and most likely several other characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Goose Girl. =)

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The first story for the chapter: A carpenter's daughter who fell in love with a tree, and her father, who carved the tree into a man (page 320) (I'm not going in page order but instead skipping around because I feel like it.... :P).

It was a day much like any other day, it seemed to the carpenter.

He hammered nails into wood skillfully to repair one man's house, the repairs so artfully done that one could barely see that it had ever needed repair.

He gently chiseled a soft cube of wood into a chirruping bird for another woman.

He continues on his tasks until midday, when he took a break and went to the village tavern to boast and laugh boisterously with the other men.

He was proud of his daughter, who was kind, good at chores, and beautiful. "Surely," he boomed as he chewed upon his sandwich, "she shall soon find a man who is suitable for her. I'd not be surprised if a prince were to ask her hand!" he boasted freely.

This daughter in question was at home, quietly cleaning the house, when she heard a birdcall. "Oh, how sweet." she smiled, and went outside to see the source.

A small jay was perched upon a tree. He cocked his head at the approachig girl, then trilled another sweet melody before flying off.

The girl smiled in the direction the jay had left in, then turned to the tree, which was neither old nor young, but were it of mankind it would be of marriageable age. "Was that not beautiful?" the tree's branches shivered in response to her question, and she smiled at the tree.

Every day after that, when her father was at the tavern boasting, she heard the birdcall and would go out, then speak to the tree once the bird left. She adored the way that the tree seemed to understand her. One day, she came with joy, for there was to be a dance that night. The tree's branches swayed above her, seeming to want to dance themselves, and the sun's rays shifted too, as if dancing upon the ground with the tree's shadow. Another day, she came sadly, for a bird she'd been caring for passed away. The tree's branches drooped, and she could almost feel its sadness. Many days she visited, pouring out her worries. Then one day, she came with indignation, for a rich old man in the village had asked to court her. "He is but a fool, to ask that of me! I wish not to marry him, he is the lowest of the low! He is so old his wrinkles have wrinkles upon them, and his eyes look like a ghost, and his hair, oh his hair is horrible where there is any and there are bald spots upon his scalp and he gropes his maids!" And the tree quivered with her, and the branches shook, and she could feel the anger radiating from it.

"Oh how I wish you were a man so that I may be with you forever and not with that horrid old man!" she cried, hugging the tree's trunk.

The next day, the tree rustled its leaves to her sadness, and when she left, it simply stood there forlornly. "I wish I were a man!" he would have called out, had he the means to do so. Then, from the shadows came a woman with a round, smooth face, eyes brown like rich soil, and long hair that was black as night. "I am Nana, from Bayern, who has come here to Kildenree." she spoke, then smiled as she said, "You wish to be a man?"

The tree rustled its leaves and swayed its branches as frantically as it could. "Yes, yes!" it wanted to cry.

"Then," the woman smiled again, "to pay for it, when you are a man, two birds of dough shall fly by you on the 13th day of your marriage. You must show them where they may find apricot preserves in the woods, for I know you know the location of that particular item."

The tree rustled gratefully, and the woman melted back into the shadows.

The next day, the girl came again. "Oh tree, oh tree, oh beloved tree, I think I am in love."

The tree's branches stiffened, then waved about in surprise and sadness.

"I think I am in love with you, tree, though you are not man." The tree quivered in shock, then happiness. "And I shall be a man, soon, as well. I will soon be able to embrace her, and comfort her truly."

The days after that were not happy, as the tree would have thought. The first day after that, the girl came out crying. "My father considers marrying me to the horrid old man! I cannot believe it! He may be rich but that's no reason for my father to marry off his only daughter to that... disgusting person!" Every day after that for 5 days, the girl came out crying, telling the tree the news. Then finally, one day, the day after she had been told she was to marry, she told her father. "Father, I am in love with a tree. It is a tree in the woods. I love it and I believe it loves me back!"

Her father boomed in disbelief, "My beloved daughter, in love with a tree? There is no way!"

The day after that, though, he went to the witch who had recently come to the village. "Your name is Nana, right?"

"Yes indeed." The woman smiled at him.

"Is there a way to make a man from a tree?" He asked her.

"Why, there is." Nana smiled again, and chirruped lightly. A small hummingbird flew to her tent and came out with a scroll, which she took and handed to the carpenter. "You, as a carpenter, are the only one who may do this successfully. Now, ta-ta!" and she seemed to glide into her tent.

The carpenter returned home and unfurled the scroll. He had never enjoyed the company of the man due to marry his daughter, and suddenly the thought of that man being his son was appalling. And he could make a living perfectly well with his carpentry. Three tiny little vials fell out when he opened the scroll, and he walked out as he read the instructions. In the forest, he poured one of the vials around the roots of the tree, so it would not feel pain. Then he spent the entire of the next three days carving, forbidding his daughter to come out. He worked as a madman, not stopping for a break but chiseling out delicate little scraps of first bark, then softer inner wood. Three days later, a man, rather than a tree, stood before him, the feet still in the ground as roots, and a large cloth draped around it like a cloak. The only part that could be seen was the head, which was beautiful in a manly way. Hair that was just longer than the norm, eyes that, if they could see, would look directly at you, a slightly open mouth, cheekbones ever so slightly defined. Then, the carpenter poured the second vial around the roots, and the tree shook and uprooted itself. The carpenter set to work placing the roots into the shapes of feet as the potion melded the roots together, and then the carpenter carefully chiseled out the details of the feet, as well. Then finally he stood up and tipped the final vial into the mouth of the statue.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, color began to spread from where the liquid had been poured into its mouth, giving the wood that was his skin a warm, lively color, and the hair became gold as the sun.

Then the statue turned its fine head, and saw the carpenter. "Are you the one who made me human?" he asked.

"Y-yes, although Nana gave me the instructions on how." stuttered the carpenter.

"Thank you." The statue bowed elegantly, and the carpenter marveled at his creation.

Then the statue --though it was a statue no more-- went into the house, and dressed in the carpenter's finest clothes. He then went up to the daughter, went down on one knee, and said, "My love, I am he who was once the tree to whom you smiled with, wept with, danced with, and spent time with. And I... I love you."

The daughter wept tears of joy and then spoke. "I love you too, oh tree!"

Needless to say, the original engagement was cancelled, and a few days later the once-tree and the carpenter's daughter were wed.

The once-tree and the carpenter's daughter were happily married then and after.

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I must say, I am rather pleased with myself. =D And plus today's my birthday! So I'm trying to finish this really quickly so I can let this out on my birthday before the party starts. Also, about the earlier story, I might type out another version later, because it also ocurred to met that out of spite someone could have made the girl fall in love with the tree and so the carpenter had to do it to save his daughter from crying to death. =)

And yay it's finally finished in time! Please review! I love reviews, hehe. If reviews were edible I'd want to gorge on them all day long. XD


	4. Chapter 3

Well! Once again, I have been very slow at updating. I feel so ashamed... I am also working on the next chapter for my other fanfic but weirdly enough I can't seem to keep my OC in character. That should be impossible, I know, but I wanted him to remain one way but I can't figure out how to make the story progress without him acting out of his planned character. D: But that's not the point obviously because this is another fanfic. :D And I was thinking about writing a few oneshots outside of my current two fanfics, (although these are technically oneshots...) but I am not good at writing oneshots, but I can't ever seem to keep following through with my stories like Dimensional Rip at all because I get bored of it quickly. I need to figure out how to keep myself interested or fit everything that I want to write into oneshots. D:

Btw, I might write a Halloween oneshot for Goose Girl. Maybe. I don't know...

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A young girl is cursed to never become a woman, and when the mother lies dying of old age, she cuts her wrist and washes her daughter in the blood, and the curse is undone.(page 66)

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A girl sat upon a stool, looking cute as was expected for a girl of her age, ten. Or rather, a day before she would be ten. Her eyes shone with joy, as she spoke with her parents.

Her parents, however, had a different look on their faces, though the girl didn't see. _Tomorrow will be the last day..._ they thought with dread.

Nine years and 355 **(A/N is that right? Or was a year 355 days?) **days ago, a joyous celebration had ensued to celebrate the birth of a baby girl. The ten-day-old baby cooed with delight, at least for a while. But then, the door opened, and in entered a young woman cloaked in black who lurked in the corner, effectively clearing out anyone who'd been standing there before with her frightening presence.

The child was utterly still, and stared in terror at the woman, who at last remarked haughtily, "What an impertinent child, staring at me in such a way!" the woman drew herself up to her formidable height and pointed at the child in a black-gloved hand. "Foolish child, for trying to stare at me in the face, you shall never grow past the age of ten!"

Every person in the room gasped, save for the child who went back to sleep.

With a "Humph!" the woman swept out of the room, black cloak streaming behind her.

Both of the parents interpreted it to be "the child shall die when she turns ten." And so treasured every moment with her, and the child grew up happy and carefree.

Now, it was time to give her up, or so the parents thought...

The next morning, the girl woke up bright and early, and awoke her parents.

"It's a miracle! She's alive!" The parents exclaimed in delight and hugged her adoringly.

Life faded back to its normal routine for 3 years after that, but then her parents began to see problems.

The girl was still exactly the same as she had been on her birthday. Same height, no growth at all. No pimples, zits, acne, breast growth, hair growth, crabbiness, moodiness... all the things that were supposed to come with aging didn't come. Her parents were worried, but tried to assume that she was just a late bloomer.

5 years later, she was 18 but still was the exact same. Her parents were despairing over her inability to grow but could do nothing. It was then that her mother, 40 years old at the time, remembered the black-cloaked woman from 8 years ago, and the words she had spoken. "You shall never grow past the age of ten!" echoed in her mind. Horrified, she told the father, and they were equally upset, but if this was a spell, what could they do to break it?

Many more years passed, until finally the father had passed away, and the mother was so old she would soon be lying on her death-bed, and yet the still-young girl remained cheerful and childish the whole time, not changing at all in manner or speech or appearance.

Then, rumors of a witch-woman passed through the small town, and the mother was elated. "_Finally, maybe she can be cured!_" the mother thought, and she forced herself to hobble to the town.

Indeed, when she saw the witch-woman, clothed in all black, she was quite surprised and happy. However, upon seeing the woman's face, her bright feeling faded. No matter how the mother tried to twist it, this witch woman was most certainly different.

"Do you know of a girl cursed to be ten forever?" The mother was still slightly hopeful, though.

"Yes, there was one such case caused by my stupid sister." The witch-woman looked annoyed at the thought of her sister.

"Can you cure her?" The mother was ecstatic. Maybe a cure was soon at hand!

"It will require lifeblood." The woman looked dark. "She made the curse so secure, only the blood of a dying one close to the recipient can cure it."

"No matter, I will die soon anyhow." It was a quick decision. An old life in return for a young was sensible.

"Then drink this." The woman handed her a vial, with dark purple liquid.

"What is it?" Slightly suspicious, the mother peered at it.

"A special poison that gives you painless death after a set amount of time. It will also enchant your blood so that, if your daughter is touched by it, the curse will be undone and she will be saved."

Taking a deep, steadying breath, the mother downed it. It was oddly thick, and nearly made her choke on its weirdly spicy sweetness. Then, all of a sudden, she was fine again. Like nothing happened...

With a faint, forgetful "Thanks..." the mother wandered back home. It took her several minutes longer than usual, but not too bad.

Arriving at home, she immediately fell asleep.

Days after, time seemed to move slower and slower for her. "Tired..." she'd mumble, then "Sleepy..."

She couldn't seem to focus anymore... finally, one day she fell over, collapsed, and when she opened her eyes hazily again, she saw what was left of her family around her bed. "I'm... dying..." she croaked.

"Knife..."

"What?" One of the random family members asked, but her daughter immediately went to get one, and handed it to the mother.

Slitting her wrist, blood that was pure, bright red, and yet glowed purple slid from the cut, landing on the child. No pain reached the mother, who's eyes closed and fell asleep for the final time.

"Ah!" Everyone in the room besides the daughter cried out, but the daughter stared, transfixed by the blood, as it dripped on her...

Days later, people began to notice small, almost unnoticeable changes in the daughter, and as more time passed, it became obvious that the daughter had begun to age once more.

Years later, the daughter stood by her mother's grave, her children and husband by her side. "Thank you, dear mother, for finally undoing the curse that had been done to me. I love you." Each person tossed flowers upon the grave, and up in Heaven the mother smiled down at her daughter, a lovely fair woman now.

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So.

How was it? Good? Bad? Please review to tell me! I want to know!


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